Candidates for Cedar Rapids Police Chief at Meet-and-Greet Thursday Night

By Jeff Raasch, Reporter

Cedar Rapids Police cruisers' light bars go off to demonstrate the differences between the interior light bars (left) and the external light bars (right) at the Cedar Rapids Police Station on First Street in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, March 10, 2010. About a year ago, 17 cars had light bars mounted on the inside because of a problem with the roof-mounted bars. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

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By Kara Kelly

Story Created: Aug 21, 2012 at 8:43 AM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 21, 2012 at 8:44 AM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Candidates to be the next Cedar Rapids Police Chief will meet residents during an open house Thursday evening.

The public is invited to meet the final seven candidates at an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the main hall at City Hall, 101 First St. SE. The candidates also have been invited to participate in interviews with key city officials.

Out of 35 applicants, the city's Civil Service Commission trimmed the list to seven and conducted Skype video interviews on Aug. 2. A certified list was forwarded to City Manager Jeff Pomeranz, who will hire the police chief with the advice and consent of the City Council. Pomeranz has said he hopes to have someone hired by mid-September.

The remaining candidates (in order of ranking by the Civil Service Commission) are:

1) Wayne Jerman -- Assistant Chief of Police, Montgomery County Department of Police, Rockville, Md.

2) Thomas Bergamine -- Former Chief of Police of Fayetteville Police Department, Fayetteville, N.C.

3) Michael Smathers -- Captain, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Charlotte, N.C.

4) Robert Johnson -- Captain/Executive Officer, Chicago Police Department, Chicago, Ill.

5) Zim Schwartze -- Most Recently Director of Columbia Joint Communications Agency and Emergency Management Services, Columbia, Mo.

6) Steve O’Konek -- Captain and Previous Acting Chief, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

7) Brad Nelson -- Patrol Division Commander, Columbia Police Department, Columbia, Mo.

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